What if the dividing line is this simple?
As simple as Please and Thank You.
As in those who regularly say Please.
And those who graciously say Thank You.
As opposed to those who expect others to do for them or to respond to them or to get out of their way because they feel they are better or more important than those around them. Or those who think what they have to do or where they have to go is more pressing than what you have to do or where you have to go.

There is something about looking at another person and saying those words which acknowledges who the other is and what they are doing whether they are bagging your groceries or helping you meet the deadline for an important project. And saying those words reminds you that it is not just about you. Reminds you that your world is bigger and more complex and more inclusive and more dependent than we sometimes remember or acknowledge.

In a conversation this morning a friend said to me: “He deserves better.”
I understood what she was saying, but I stumbled over her words, yet, we use them all the time.
Advertisers use them all the time.You deserve it.I deserve it.He deserves better.Really?
I find myself wondering what do I deserve?
I honestly don’t know.
I am not sure I deserve anything.

Somehow the word deserve taps into a sense of entitlement which I am not sure is helpful.
Because of who I am;
Because of what I have or don’t have;
Because I have worked hard or been good;
I deserve not to get sick.
Or, not to have a child struggle academically or battle addiction.
Or, to have this car or those clothes.
Or, to be treated with deference by any and all.

Maybe I am just picking at nits, but, in the end, I believe language matters and the words we use matter because words shape and reflect how we view our lives and think about our world. What do you think?